Maintaining Succulents/cactus in Mumbai

       

     Vriksha has suddenly seen an increase in demand of succulents over the past few months. I dont know what how or why but people have taken to succulents with some gusto so much so as to keep us with the increasing demand we had to make a separate section at our Mumbai nursery dedicated to these succulents and cacti.Technically, a succulent is any plant with thick, fleshy (succulent) water storage organs. Succulents store water in their leaves, their stems or their roots. These plants have adapted to survive arid conditions throughout the world, Fortunately for us, this adaptive mechanism has resulted in an incredible variety of interesting leaf forms and plant shapes, including paddle leaves, tight rosettes, and bushy or trailing columns of teardrop leaves. Be it in terrariums or table top arrangements our 1 out of 3 people that walk in has been asking for these beauties and we have over 35 different varieties for them to choose from. And though maintaing these is extremely easy but most struggle to keep these tiny guys from rotting away. So we decided to write a little article to help you guys maintaing these plants in the best yet easiest way possible :-

     

First off, I will say that succulents tend to grow best outside. As cute as they are, they don’t make the best indoor house plants but they work none the less. That said, if you love them as much as I do, you’ll grow them anyway! And you should! There are a lot of other indoor house plants that may not be as picky as succulents, but succulents are tough enough that they still survive and do fairly well inside. Haworthias and Gasteraloesare two genus of succulents that do especially well indoors.
When succulents are indoors it’s often hard for them to get enough sunlight.
     They generally about 3 hours a day. You’ll want to keep your plants as close to the window as you can, but be careful not to let them get sunburned if the light from the window gets too hot. This tends to happen most with south facing windows (which tend to get the most light if you’re in the northern hemisphere). I’ve kept my succulents in an east facing window, right up against the window, and they have done really well. If your succulents aren’t getting enough light they will start to stretch. colourful Echeverias are especially prone to stretching indoors. If there isn’t anywhere that gets brighter light (or more hours of light), don’t worry! After it get’s too stretchy for your taste, just cut off the top and propagate it! The bonus is that you’ll also get more plants :)
 
   

WATER LESS :-This is only true during the winter months of growing your succulents indoors. If you are growing succulents indoors during the summer, just water as normal, waiting for the soil to dry out before you water again. During the winter though, succulents don’t need very much water at all. Since they are dormant, they aren’t growing and they don’t use up as much water. I generally water my indoor succulents about every 2 weeks in the monsoon. Many people recommend even less, but I’ve found that having the heater in my house running tends to dry out the succulents pretty quickly. Just keep an eye on the soil. You’ll want to let it dry out completely and then give it about a week before you water again.Here is a little secret, just like all plants, eventually the lower leaves of succulents are going to shrivel up and die. You should only be concerned about dying leaves if the newest or uppermost leaves on your succulent are shriveling. If it’s just the ones near the bottom of the stem (closest to the soil), you don’t have anything to worry about!

     Soil   : Succulents should be potted in a fast-draining mixture that's designed for cacti and succulents. If you don't have access to a specialized mix, considering modifying a normal potting mix with an inorganic agent like perlite to increase aeration and drainage. These plants generally have shallow roots that form a dense mat just under the soil surface.

 Fertilizer: During the summer growing season, fertilizer as you would with other houseplants. Stop fertilizing entirely during the winter.